December Binges Part 1: Say Nothing, A Man on the Inside, The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh

As always, I have spent much time on the couch over the past month and have been catching up on a slew of streaming shows. If you’re hibernating this month, why not fire up one of these shows to keep you engaged?

Say Nothing: Created by Joshua Zetumer, based on the nonfiction book by Patrick Radden Keefe, this is a searing miniseries about the Troubles in Northern Ireland that spans the 1960s to the 90s. The series focuses on Dolours Price (Lola Petticrew/Maxine Peake) and her sister Marian (Hazel Doupe/Helen Behan), two young women who were initially pacifists who protested for peace, but who then joined the provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and tunred to a more violent path.

This is also a story about the Disappeared, people who were suspected of being informants and were secretly killed and buried by the IRA over the years; we specifically follow the story of a widow with ten children named Jean McConville, who was suddenly taken from her family and never seen again. And this is also a story about Gerry Adams, a man who led the IRA but then went on to become a politician and the president of Sinn Fein, who tried to broker a peace deal while claiming he was never a member of the IRA. 

These stories may seem disparate, but they are interwoven and culminate in tremendous fashion in the series finale. Over nine episodes, I was captivated by this show, on the edge of my seat to see what exactly would happen next. The series showcases the Belfast Project by Boston College, which helped former IRA members, like Dolours Price, record an oral history of what they had done, so every episode winds back and forth as you see the older version of these characters re-live their past in vivid flashbacks. It’s a masterful piece of television that outlines a dark and dangerous period of history and makes it feel urgent and relevant today. 

A Man on the Inside: If you don’t want drama but a comedy that will still make you periodically tear up, creator Michael Schur has you covered. In this show (based on the 2020 Oscar-nominated documentary, The Mole Agent), Ted Danson stars as Charles, a lonely man who decides to answer a classified ad that Julie (Lilah Richcreek Estrada)put in the paper. Julie runs a private detective agency and has a client who wants to investigate the retirement community his mother is in; her necklace is missing, and he thinks there’s a thief in her midst. Charles seems to be a perfect candidate to pose as a new retiree in this community, so Julie hires him, trains him up on how to be a spy, and sends him in.

The supporting cast includes Stephanie Beatriz as Didi, the extremely dedicated and competent woman who runs the community, and Mary Elizabeth Ellis as Charles' daughter, Emily, who is worried about her father, but somewhat relieved that he has found a hobby. As you can imagine, Charles is not a natural spy, and his first few days at the home are a bit of a disaster as he tries to figure out how to fit in with the residents without blowing his cover. But as the days go on, he starts to find his way with this motley crew and also starts to hone his spy craft (well kind of). 

This is a beautiful show that is about old folks and how much more they have going on in their lives than Hollywood ordinarily wants to acknowledge. It also reflects the very real challenges of growing older and the strain it can put on families as they try to navigate how best to take care of their elderly relatives. It's a very funny show and has an engaging mystery element, but it's also incredibly heartfelt and sweet, so keep a box of tissues handy at all times.

The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh: If you don't want to cry at all, then settle in for a typical American sitcom about a rather atypical family. Creator Vijal Patel gives us this show about a family that moved from India to Pennsylvania. But when we first meet them, they are being interviewed by two immigration officers who are trying to figure out who burned down their neighbors' house. What follows are eight episodes of interrogations where we get their story in flashbacks.

Sindhu Vee (a comedian I absolutely adore), plays Sudha (my mother's name!), a doctor who is mad at being uprooted to the US where no hospital will even accept her medical license. Naveen Andrews plays her husband Mahesh, a man filled with bright-eyed optimism about the land of opportunity, who has a SpaceX contract and thinks he's going to make it big by launching a rocket factory in PA. They have three children, Bhanu (Sahana Srinivasan), a very horny teenager who has her sights set on the hot boy next door (Nicholas Hamilton), Kamal (Arjun Sriram), a very neurotic teenager who has somehow developed an infatuation for the mother of the hot boy next door (Megan Hilty), and Vinod (Ashwin Sakthivel), a cheerful, upbeat kid who is obsessed with the garbage truck. 

This is definitely the broadest of comedies, but it contains fun jokes about white people and Americans and the challenges of fitting in as foreigners. There's plenty of material about Indian traditions and customs, but at the end of the day, this is a pretty standard sitcom that is easy to binge through in an afternoon. If you're Indian, you may enjoy it for the representation, and if you're not Indian, maybe you'll learn something?

Holiday Movie Watch: Hot Frosty, Our Little Secret, The Merry Gentlemen, Nutcrackers

'Tis the season! Once Thanksgiving was over, I began mainlining Christmas movies on streaming platforms. If you're ready for some thoroughly mindless entertainment to put you into the holiday spirit, let's jingle all the way!

Hot Frosty: This is the movie everyone's talking about. Directed by Jerry Ciccoritti and written by Russell Hainline, this movie stars Lacey Chabert as Kathy, a lonely widow who runs the cafe in her small town. She puts a scarf around a snowman that was made for a local competition, and lo and behold, later that night, the snowman magically comes alive. And this is no pot-bellied snowman with a carrot nose. This snowman is played by Dustin Milligan and has some chiseled abs. Is this high art? No. But is every actor committed to the silliness and having a whale of a time in this movie? You bet. The supporting cast includes Craig Robinson and Joe Lo Truglio as the local sheriffs who are looking to identify this mysterious man who has appeared in town, and yes, while initially the snowman has no idea what's going on and seems to be about as mature as a toddler, he thankfully has a real quick learning curve so it's not too icky when an inevitable romance begins to brew. Pour out a mug of hot chocolate and settle in, because this is the coziest movie you're gonna watch this week.

Our Little Secret: I 100% support Linday Lohan's pivot into becoming a Netflix romcom queen. In this film, directed by Stephen Herek and written by Hailey DeDominicis, Lohan plays Avery, a woman who is visiting her boyfriend Cameron's (Jon Rudnitsky) family over the holidays. Unfortunately, Cameron's sister, Cassie (Katie Baker) brings home her boyfriend, Logan (Ian Harding). Who is, of course, Avery's ex-boyfriend. Naturally, Avery and Logan decide not to tell anyone that they used to date, which leads to many shenanigans and ruses. And of course, they're not the only one in this house harboring a secret - everyone's got something to hide, and by the end, all will be revealed. It's absolutely charming, classic holiday fare, and I thoroughly enjoyed every second. Kristin Chenoweth also stars as Cameron's snarky mother who goes around blessing everyone's heart and being the mother-in-law of their nightmares. Almost every beat is predictable, though there was one twist towards the end that I absolutely did not see coming, so I offer that up as additional enticement. But otherwise, this is the perfect movie to be watching while you put up your tree and wrap presents. Fa la la la la!

The Merry Gentlemen: Do you love the holidays but wish they involved more topless male dancing? Well, this movie, directed by Peter Sullivan and written by Marla Sokoloff, has you covered! Britt Robertson stars as Ashley, a dancer in Manhattan (she is a "Jingle Belle" which is basically just an off-brand Rockette), who gets canned for being too old, and sadly heads back to her small town for Christmas. When she gets there, she finds out that the bar her parents' own is in trouble and needs a massive cash infusion if they want tohang on to it past the holidays. So naturally, Ashley decides the only solution is so stage an all-male revue and put on performances till Christmas to raise money. One of the dudes she recruits is the local handyman, Luke (Chad Michael Murray, whose hair is particularly distracting throughout the film), as well as the local barman and some other men who can actually dance, unlike Murray, who laughably spends most of the time standing in the back of these routines with his shirt off, trying to look sexy without moving too much. Again, it's predictable and dumb, but it is full of holiday cheer and shirtless men, so what's not to like?

Nutcrackers: I need to be clear right off the bat that I did NOT like this movie so am emphatically not recommending you watch it if you want to feel some holiday uplift. But here's a short review nonetheless. Written by Leland Douglas and directed by David Gordon Green, Ben Stiller stars as Michael, a man who has to take a break from his high-powered job in Chicago to drive down to a farm in rural Ohio so he can serve as temporary guardian to his four unruly nephews after his sister and brother-in-law tragically died in a car accident. The children are out of control and Michael was somewhat estranged from his sister, so he basically just wants the social worker, played by Linda Cardellini, to quickly find foster parents for these kids so he can wash his hands of them and head back to his real life. And then of course, he spends more time with the kids, gets more entwined with the local townsfolk, and yada yada yada. This movie is mostly chaotic vibes, and the tone is weird throughout, never quite funny enough or dramatic enough, just aggressively mid. If that sounds like the kind of thing you're into, go ahead, but otherwise, stick to the three ridiculous movies I recommended above instead.

November Movies Part 5: A Real Pain, Fancy Dance, Will & Harper, Moana 2

Another theme this month has been watching movies about close relatives or friends take a trip together. If you're ready to watch some moving, funny, and/or serious movies that might make you tear up a little, settle in.

A Real Pain: Written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, who also co-stars with Kieran Culkin, this is a story about two Jewish cousins from New York who head to Poland for a week-long Holocaust tour to honor their dead grandmother who survived the camps. Yes, nothing about that seems inherently funny, but David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Culkin) have a deeply complicated relationship, and as we see them interact with their guide, James (brilliantly played by Will Sharpe) and the bewildered members of their tour group, who all have their own fascinating reasons for why they are taking this tour, there is room for a lot of comedy and a lot of heart. 

It's difficult to describe this film without getting into a slew of spoilers. Everything is really about the acting and Culkin delivers an outrageously great performance that is sure to be Oscar-nominated next year. His portrayal of Benji is so hard to pin down until the very end when you finally understand the backstory for this trip and how David feels about him. The supporting cast are also incredible, alternately having to be annoyed by these weird cousins and their outbursts, and then demonstrating a kindness and compassion that is in keeping with the whole theme of their tour. 

The entire soundtrack is a beautiful series of Chopin pieces performed by pianist Tzvi Erez, and the cinematography by Michal Dymek (who is Polish) is wondrous, truly capturing the beauty of Poland as well as the more somber moments of the Holocaust tour. There isn't a moment of this film that isn't captivating and engrossing, and by the end of it, you'll wish this trip could go on for a few more days. 

Fancy Dance: Written and directed by Erica Tremblay, this is the story of Jax (Lily Gladstone), a Native American woman who is taking care of her niece, Roki (Isabel DeRoy-Olson) on the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma after her sister has mysteriously disappeared. Jax isn't exactly a great role model, but she's a hustler and is trying to make ends meet in an effort to take care of this 13-year-old girl and pressure federal investigators to look into the disappearance of her sister. 

What follows is a sadly typical tale where Native American women get no respect and their disappearances fall into a black hole due to the complicated interplay between the tribal police and federal investigators. There is also a complicated dynamic with Jax's father (aka Roki's grandfather), who is white and now lives off the reservation with his white wife. They want to serve as Roki's guardians instead of Jax, but don't know much about the culture and are unwilling to let Roki attend the annual Oklahoma City powwow. No points for guessing whether Child Protective Services thinks that's an important consideration.

This is a sad but also beautiful movie, with a lot of dialogue in the Cayuga language, which is always a delight as Indigenous languages never get a lot of airtime in the media. The relationship between Jax and Roki is so tender and loving and the final scenes at the powwow are particularly uplifting and moving, even if everything else in this film has indicated that these two women are always going to be let down by the system. It's a powerful film about how Native American women often have to serve as their own champions, and the lengths they have to go to in order to preserve their culture and get some justice.

Will & Harper: Directed by Josh Greenbaum, this is a documentary about the actor Will Ferrell and his long-time best friend, Harper Steele. They met on the set of SNL in 1995 and were fast friends and comedic partners for 30 years, but in 2022, at the age of 61, Harper came out to her friends and undertook a gender transition. This film is about these two friends going on a long road trip across America, to red states and places that have a dangerous history of homophobia and denying trans rights, to see whether they can get past the media noise and just meet some real people, as well as explore their friendship. As you might expect, what they discover is rather heartwarming and affirming, but there's still plenty of bias and hate they have to combat along the way.

The film is quite bittersweet because while it showcases plenty of folk who accept Harper for who she is and don’t make a fuss, it also highlights the heinous transphobia in pockets of this country and also online on social media, where people feel free to spew hatred. Harper used to love long road trips and frequenting dive bars in the most isolated areas, but now, as a trans woman, she is deeply afraid of what she may encounter on such trips. While this road trip occasionally alleviates her fears, with some encounters even driving her to tears because of the love and acceptance she is given, it by no means clear that she can travel freely wherever she likes any longer. The fact that she is travelling with Ferrell provides enormous security along the way, and it is sad to see that this is a country where women, and particularly trans women, still cannot feel safe.

However, while it’s interesting to see who they meet along the way (including plenty of cameos from famous SNL folk), this is mainly a story about Will and Harper's friendship, and how these two people reconnect after one has gone through a pretty major life change. Ferrell voices his concerns about how he is expected to treat Harper now that she is a woman - can he still talk to his friend in the same way? Turns out the answer is yes. It’s a deeply sweet movie about the power of friendship and acceptance, and that while you might be ignorant and have to ask dumb questions, as long as you are thoughtful and care deeply about making sure the other person feels safe and comfortable, you can still maintain a loving and cherished friendship. The world is a big and scary place, but it's a lot less scary when you have a best friend by your side. 

Moana 2: If you're ready for some lighter entertainment, dive in for some Disney fun. Our hero Moana (who is emphatically NOT a princess) is off on another adventure, this time to discover the island of Motufetu that is under the curse of a vengeful god named Nalo who hates humans. Instead of going on a voyage accompanied solely by a pig and a chicken, this time she actually takes some of the villagers with her, including a canoe builder named Lato (voiced brilliantly by Rose Matafeo), an elderly farmer named Kele (David Fane) and a storyteller/historian named Moni (Hualalai Chung). 

Directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller, off a script written by Jared Bush and Miller, this movie features stunning animation and a sea voyage that is almost reminiscent of The Odyssey given the many adventures this crew has along the way. Of course, they finally do run into the demigod Maui (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who is having quite the holiday movie season), and they then team up to take on Nalo and re-connect with the people spread out on islands across the ocean.

If you love the English songs from the original Moana, unfortunately you're going to be disappointed with this sequel. Lyricists Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear don't quite nail any of the English songs, particularly when they are then juxtaposed with beautiful traditional Polynesian songs that are interspersed throughout the movie. Given how Moana is a celebration of indigenous culture, I would have been delighted if composers Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa'i gave us a soundtrack that was solely composed of Polynesian chants as that music has a way of really delving into your soul and stirring up emotion even if you can't understand the words. Nonetheless, there's a lot to enjoy about this film, and if you're looking for something bright and cheerful to head into the holidays, this movie is a solid choice at the theaters.

November Binges: The Franchise, Three Women, Disclaimer, The Penguin

The following shows have all been airing week-to-week (such a novelty in this day and age!) so I have been delighting in them in installments over the past few months. However, they are now all done, so are available to you for an epic binge if that's how you consume your entertainment. There's quite the range of genres and themes here, but all are excellent in their own way, so prepare yourself to spend a lot of time on your couch.

The Franchise: Created by Jon Brown, a man who has written for Succession and Veep, this is a biting comedy about the machinations of making a big-budget superhero film. Set on a studio lot in London, Himesh Patel stars as Daniel the much-beleaguered first assistant director on a movie called Tecto: Eye of the Storm. He has to support the neurotic German director, Eric (Daniel Bruhl), an auteur who is trying to impose his unique artistic vision on this mass market movie, with the support of his sycophantic script supervisor, Steph(Jessica Hynes). Daniel also has a brand-new third assistant director, Dag (Lolly Adefope) who joins the crew filled with wide-eyed excitement, but quickly comes to realize that showbiz is a slog. The superhero movie's protagonist, Tecto, is played by an anxious actor named Adam (Billy Magnussen), an insecure man who is desperately trying to break into the A-list, even though he knows his character is not in the top tier of superheroes in this particular franchise. His co-star, Peter (the diabolically hilarious Richard E. Grant), is a wry British actor who is just doing this for the paycheck, is an HR nightmare, and finds the whole enterprise to be inane.

Throw in the studio bigwigs and producers who are there to make money not art, and you have a recipe for delicious disaster. Every episode is scored with this pulse-pounding techno beat that ratchets up your blood pressure as Daniel and the crew try to avoid an infinite series of disasters and petty squabbles, and try to keep within budget and timelines in an increasingly futile effort to make a movie they might actually like to watch. It's a perfect commentary on the current state of filmmaking, and a thoroughly excellent British comedy.

Three Women: Based on the nonfiction book by Lisa Taddeo that told the story of the sex lives of three different American women, the first thing you should know about this show is that it is extremely racy. If you are not into explicit content, this is not the show for you, a feeling that was shared by the network that originally paid for this show, Showtime, who then did not want to air it and sold it to Starz for distribution instead. Consider yourself pre-warned. 

In this show, we follow Gia (Shailene Woodley), a sort of stand-in for the book's original author, as she's interviewing different women to write her book, but also going through some personal turmoil in her own love life. We then get three separate stories about three women - there's Lina (Betty Gilpin), a midwestern housewife in Indiana who yearns to be touched but has a thoroughly uninterested husband; Sloane (DeWanda Wise), a rich and successful event planner who has an open relationship with her handsome husband, Richard (Blair Underwood), and is always keeping an eye out for a new man or woman to recruit into their polyamorous trysts; and Maggie, a young high schooler, who has an affair with a married teacher and a few years later decides to file a formal complaint against him.

This show can be very hard to watch at times and will be quite triggering if you have any history of sexual violence or assault. But it is also an incisive and cutting portrait of how these different women navigate their sex lives, and the ramifications when they either demand or don't know how to ask for what they want. Each actress is doing phenomenal work, offering up brutally honest and wrenching performances that make you thoroughly understand why they're doing what they're doing, even if you think what they're doing is a mistake. I cannot recommend this show as a feel-good watch, but it's unlike anything I've seen on TV. I was captivated by Taddeo's book when I read it years ago, and while the show struggles to come up with a coherent narrative, it still captures the essence of her book and its attempt to navigate the complexities of being an American woman in our modern world. 

Disclaimer: Written and directed by Alfonso Cuaron, based on the novel by Renee Knight, I will have to warn you again about this show being insanely explicit. Seriously, do not watch this show if any young children (or conservative adults) are around. Once you get them out of the way, however, hunker down for a thoroughly twisty and disturbing story that unfolds with absolute precision. Cate Blanchett stars as Catherine, a successful documentary journalist who is married to Robert (Sacha Baron Cohen, in a very somber dramatic role). They have a 25-year-old son, Nicholas (Kodi Smit-McPhee), who has struggled with addiction but is trying to get back on his feet. Overall, they are a typical rich British family - some problems, but nothing that money can't solve. Until a mysterious novel called The Perfect Stranger enters their life.

This novel was self-published by a retired teacher named Stephen (Kevin Kline), and the rest of this miniseries is a story about what that book is about and why Stephen is using it to destroy Catherine and her family. I am loath to give away much more information, because the whole point of this show is to watch the mystery slowly unfold and twist upon itself like a mesmerizing Mobius strip, so all I'll say is that Catherine did something in her past that involved Stephen's son, and now that event is coming back to haunt her. You will think you know what's happening for six episodes, and then the final Episode 7 will turn everything on its head. It's a remarkable and propulsive piece of storytelling that had me on the edge of my seat every week and now can have you in the throes of a manic binge for seven hours straight. Enjoy!

The Penguin: While I'm not a DC person, I have always enjoyed Christopher Nolan's Batman movies and found myself quite enjoying The Batman with Robert Pattinson in 2022. In that film, Colin Farrell had a supporting role as Oswald "Oz" Cobb, aka The Penguin, one of Batman's many nemeses, and I absolutely could not recognize him under all those prosthetics, limp, and strong Brooklyn/Gotham accent. Well now, he has his own spin-off show, and every single week, I would watch it and say, "I still can't believe that's Colin Farrell!"

This show is really firing on all cylinders. Created by Lauren LeFranc, the production design is epic, the writing is superb, offering up cliffhangers that kept me riveted throughout, and the performances by the supporting cast are excellent. There's Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, a woman who was betrayed by Oz but might team up with him again to defy her evil family. Their relationship takes many twists and turns that you can revel in for eight episodes. There's also Deirdre O'Connell as Oz's mother, Francis, a woman who has an extremely weird, almost Oedipal relationship with Oz, but also has an incredible backstory that we flesh out during those final episodes. And there's Rhenzy Feliz as Vic, a nervous young boy from the wrong side of tracks who has to team up with Oz in an emergency but then seems poised to maybe make a life for himself after all. 

This show is like watching a superhero version of The Godfather, with shifting loyalties, many betrayals, and insanely compelling characters that have many layers of evil within them that you will have to dig through. Don't forget, this is a story about a villain, and by the end of the show, you won't have any sympathy for The Penguin, but you will probably be horrifically impressed at what he has managed to accomplish. While this was meant to be a one-off miniseries, the show has done so well that it could come back for another season, and there is a teaser about what new characters we could see then. Fingers crossed, but even as a single season, it is a true delight.

November Movies Part 4: Gladiator II, Wicked: Part I, Red One

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, so bring on the blockbusters! I watched two movies that have been hotly anticipated all year long, and one Christmas movie that was probably only hotly anticipated by me. Did they all measure up to expectations? Sure!

Gladiator II: The original Gladiator is one of my all-time favorite movies, one of the rare films I have rewatched multiple times. 24 years later, director Ridley Scott is back with a sequel written by David Scarpa that essentially rehashes the original film but asks "what if we made it even more over-the-top and had a battle with literal SHARKS in the Colosseum?!" 

Paul Mescal stars as Hanno, a soldier in the city of Numidia, who is forced into slavery and becomes a gladiator after his city is captured by the Roman army, under the leadership of General Acacius (Pedro Pascal). Like Maximus in the original movie, Hanno moves up through the ranks, catching the eye of Macrinus (Denzel Washington, playing this character with an unparalleled squirrelly glee), a man who wants to use gladiators to impress the evil twin emperors who currently rule Rome with an iron fist (the emperors are played by Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger, who at this point is becoming one of the most typecast actors in Hollywood and I would like to see him not playing a crazy psychopath please). There are a lot of questions about who exactly Hanno is, and when he makes it to Rome and fights his first bout at the Colosseum, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, reprising her role from the original movie) is startled to see him. You can watch the movie to unravel the rest about this man and how exactly he might be related to all your favorite characters from the first film. 

There are a lot of fights with great stunt choreography, plenty of CGI that can sometimes be laughable, and somewhat shaky cinematography by John Mathieson. But if you want all the grandeur and spectacle of Ancient Rome, you'll get that in spades, thanks to production designer, Arthur Max. This movie certainly doesn't pack the emotional heft of its predecessor, even though it valiantly tries, particularly in the final scene that features that iconic music that reliably makes me weep every time I watch the original. I did not shed a tear for this film, but it was still a satisfying nostalgia watch that guaranteed a Gladiator rewatch is very much in my not-too-distant future. 

Wicked: Part I: After the marketing blitz we have endured for several months, this movie is finally here! And it's great! Directed by Jon M. Chu, with a screenplay by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, this is the movie about Galinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), two classmates at Shiz University who want to study sorcery and will ultimately go on to become the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West that we all know from The Wizard of Oz. This is an adaptation of the Broadway musical, so do not expect it to be as dark and ponderous as the original novel by Richard Maguire. Instead, prepare yourself for a spellbinding tale about friendship, deceit, and how people can be oh-so-misunderstood when they are not the ones in power. Also, if you need a handsome man to look at, you've got Jonathan Bailey as Prince Fiyero, but really, all the focus is on Erivo and Grande who fully understood the brief and are perfectly cast as this iconic duo.

This is only Part I, so you will still have to endure the onslaught of more marketing for Part II next year. But this part is iconic and incredible all on its own. My ears perked up when I heard the opening strains of the few songs I knew, and oh man, when we get that final "Defying Gravity" number in the end, it is absolutely what you wanted and more. The production design by Nathan Crowley is unbelievable, and the lavish costumes by Paul Tazewell are sure to garner him an Oscar nomination. The actors are phenomenal, the music is perfect, and my eyes were glued to the screen from start to finish. It's exactly what fans expected from this movie, and even I, an extremely casual fan, cannot wait for the next installment.

Red One: Written by Chris Morgan and directed by Jake Kasdan, this is a supremely goofy and delightful holiday action movie about what happens when Santa Claus (played by a surprisingly ripped J.K. Simmons) gets kidnapped. The head of his security detail, Callum Drift (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), has to team up with the world's best hacker, Jack O'Malley (Chris "Captain America" Evans), who also happens to be a man who is on the "naughty list" and doesn't believe Santa is real. Well, he's in for a shock.

This movie is exactly what it says on the tin. It is silly and fun, there are lots of great action sequences where The Rock and Captain America are whaling on snowmen, North Pole security apparently has portals through toy stores worldwide, Lucy Liu is in charge of an organization called the Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority, and there's an extended cameo from freakin' Krampus (Kristofer Hivju). What more could you want?! This movie is like a perfect little snow globe that shakes up Christmas lore, chase sequences, and spy thrillers into one thoroughly entertaining little diversion that is a perfect way to kick off your holiday movie watch. Merry Christmas everyone!

November Movies Part 3: A Different Man & The Substance

Do you need more body horror in your life? Well, I am here to deliver. I watched two similar yet strikingly different movies this week, both of which deal with people who are dissatisfied with their bodies and then have to face the consequences when they get the new body they thought they wanted, only to realize that maybe this wasn't really what they wanted after all. One of these movies is written by and about a man, while the other is written by and about a woman, and no points for guessing which one I think is better. Be warned: the two reviews that follow will be quite spoilerific, so if you want to watch the movies first and then get back to this post to tell me why you agree or disagree with all my thoughts, go right ahead!

A Different Man: Written and directed by Aaron Schimberg, this film stars Sebastian Stan as Edward, a man whose face is disfigured by a mass of tumors due to a genetic illness called neurofibromatosis. He still pursues his dream of being an actor, but is mostly just cast in HR workplace videos about how to treat hideous-looking coworkers. A playwright named Ingrid (Renate Reinsve) moves into the apartment across from him, and she tries to connect with him, but he can't act on his romantic feelings, ashamed of how he looks. However, when his doctor tells him about a new experimental treatment, he signs on, and as you can imagine, the treatment turns out to be a cure. Over time, his skin starts peeling away, the tumors fall off, and all of a sudden, he's just a handsome man.

At this point, we jump a few years into the future. Edward has changed his name to Guy and become an enormously successful realtor (a winking nod to how being a realtor seems to be more about curating your own image than selling houses). But he then reconnects with Ingrid who no longer recognizes him. Turns out she is putting on an off-Broadway play that is all about a disfigured man named Edward. "Guy" auditions for the part and get its, then starts sleeping with Ingrid (natch), and it seems like maybe he got the life he wanted all along. But then a British actor named Oswald (Adam Pearson) shows up, who also has neurofibromatosis, and a similarly disfigured face like Guy/Edward used to have. [Sidenote: the actor Adam Pearson really does have this condition, so this film is essentially built around him.] Initially, Ingrid takes him on as an advisor for the play, but over time he ends up supplanting Guy as the lead, and also ends up in a relationship with Ingrid. And our hero is left a miserable wretch, who realizes that he never needed to get handsome to land the girl, he just needed to be a nice guy. Some violence and drama ensues, but that was ultimately my final takeaway.

This movie is extremely low-budget and just felt like a weird little film about how men can get women just by having a good personality, and that you shouldn't let personal appearance drive your insecurities. It doesn't feel like it has much else to say about Edward or his life, and in classic male fashion, it really all comes down to whether or not the man can get laid as a determinant of personal success. The fact that Adam Pearson does truly have neurofibromatosis certainly makes this a much more meaningful film, but I found the plot to be kind of trite and boring. This film is offbeat and odd, and once I watched The Substance, I realized, oh, this story could be told in such a better way.

The Substance: Written and directed by Coralie Fargeat, this film stars Demi Moore as Elizabeth Sparkle, a once-famous Oscar-winning actress, who is now 50 and past her prime as far as Hollywood is concerned. She has been relegated to hosting an aerobics TV show, but the evil producer (played with cartoonish misogynistic glee by Dennis Quaid), is ready for a hot new thing and doesn't want to see Elizabeth's haggard body on TV anymore. To be clear, if you watch the first ten minutes of this movie and think that Demi Moore's body is anything less than smoking hot, you must be blind. But a 50-year-old woman is anathema to Hollywood, so that brings us to our current predicament.

Elizabeth is devastated that she is being sidelined so brutally. Then, she mysteriously is introduced to something called "The Substance," that promises she could spend a week in a younger, hotter body, as long as she keeps interchanging with her regular body for a week after. She heads into a shady warehouse, picks up a box of supplies from a mailbox, and heads home to inject herself with the substance. Which leads to a young, hot clone bursting out of her back. This clone names herself Sue, and is played by Margaret Qualley, who is quite ideal casting for a younger Demi Moore.

There is very little dialogue in this movie. Instead, it's an extremely physical and bonkers romp set to an intense techno score by Raffertie with hyper-colorful and lush cinematography by Benjamin Kracun that makes this whole story feel visceral and oh-so enjoyable. Over time, Sue, enjoying all the power and privilege her hot new body gives her, tries to push the boundaries of The Substance, seeing if she can remain as Sue for an extra hour, then an extra day, and then maybe...forever? Obviously, it doesn't work that way, and during the weeks when Elizabeth takes charge of her body, she discovers that Sue's selfishness is resulting in her aged body becoming even more decrepit. Eventually, things come to a head, and the final sequence of this film will treat you to an absolutely ridiculous monster that deserves an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

It's clear that The Substance is working with a much higher budget that allows it to turn this premise into a thoroughly surreal extravaganza. A Different Man is operating on a lower tier and a much less ambitious scope. But ultimately, do I want to see a man moping around about his appearance all because of his need to get a hot woman to like him? Or do I want to see Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley get taken down by the patriarchy because they work in an industry where appearances are all that matter? It did strike me that in A Different Man, the idea is that men don't need to be hot to get ahead in the world, while in The Substance, it is very clear that all that matters is that women must be attractive. Ultimately, The Substance is a much more fun and audacious movie, but I welcome your thoughts on what you got out of watching these films and who does a better job of getting their point across. 

November Movies Part 2: Here & Heretic

This week I watched two rather lackluster movies that both had good pedigrees but fell a bit flat on execution. If you're curious about these films, read on about these films, or go watch them first and then come discuss them with me in the comments!

Here: Directed by Robert Zemeckis, who co-wrote the screenplay with Eric Roth, based on Richard McGuire's graphic novel of the same name, this is a story that is mostly set in the living room of an American house. We travel back and forth in time focusing on this one square patch of land, so there is one sequence when we are literally seeing dinosaurs roam across it, then others where we see some Native Americans exploring the area. But the majority of this film is about the families who occupy the house that was eventually built on this land at the turn of the 20th century.

The meat of the story focuses on the Young family, consisting of a World War II veteran, Al (Paul Bettany), his wife, Rose (Kelly Reilly), and their children, one of whom grows up and marries a woman and continues to live in the family home. That couple is played in young (and old) adulthood by Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, and offers up a story about what happens when you get married too young and have to sacrifice your ambitions for a life of painful domesticity. And also reveals how de-aging software continues to evolve, as we first see Hanks and Wright as teenagers - let's just say I was not convinced.

This movie feels like it's made for our TikTok age, when no one can focus on a story for more than a few minutes at a time. Instead, we get fragments of story, told in short bursts, drunkenly weaving across time periods, covering some major historical events and milestones, some emotional milestones, but largely feeling like a gimmicky exercise in storytelling that doesn't have much of a story to tell. There's nothing particularly new and compelling that this movie can convey about its characters; it's just trying to tell their stories in a novel way that feels a bit forced and clunky. I won't lie, I definitely kept my eyes on the screen the whole time since I never knew where things were going next. But at the end of the film, did I feel like I had watched something worth leaving my own living room for? Nope.

Heretic: Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, this is a story about what happens when two Mormon missionaries, Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East), end up at the house of a seemingly charming British man named Mr. Reed (played by the always deceptively charming Hugh Grant), who then proceeds to terrorize them as he has his own ideas about religion. 

Obviously, I watched this movie because of Hugh Grant - I am 100% here for his villain era and was dying to see what he was going to do in this weird little horror film. His performance is thoroughly delightful, charming the women into his home and then quickly turning that twinkle in his eye into a manic glint. The two women also deliver excellent performances, East offering up a brilliant turn as a naive and sheltered missionary who is desperate to make a new convert and is hysterically polite even as it becomes clear that Reed is an absolute lunatic, while Thatcher is wonderful as the more suspicious woman who knows she shouldn't trust this man but now has to figure out how they can fight him. Interestingly, both East and Thatcher were raised as Mormons, though they aren't currently practicing. Unfortunately, there's only so much actors can do if there isn't much more to the story.

Ultimately, this script did not do it for me. There were some great monologues for Grant to chew on, but at the end of the day, this movie has nothing novel to say about religion and seems to struggle to find any point of view. It's basically a horror movie that's flailing for a premise and doesn't land on anything too exciting. Even as a horror film, I didn't find myself particularly enthralled - sure, there are plenty of quiet steps into dark places and you're waiting for something to go "Boo!" and scare the crap out of you. But that's about it - this movie is one long series of horror movie tropes and nothing beyond that. Like me, if you want to be a Hugh Grant completist, go ahead, but otherwise, I wouldn't expect this movie to blow your mind. 

November Movies Part 1: Woman of the Hour & Anora

It's time to watch some movies that feature amazing leading ladies. And have I got a treat for you.

Woman of the Hour: Anna Kendrick stars in this film, which also happens to be her directorial debut (yay we love women directors!). Written by Ian McDonald and based on true events from the 1970s, this film tells the story of Sheryl Bradshaw (Kendrick), a struggling actress in Los Angeles, who booked a gig on The Dating Game, a show where a woman asks questions of three male suitors that she cannot see, and then picks one of them to go on a date with. It turns out Bachelor #3, who she eventually picked to be the winner, was Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto), a serial killer who had systematically been raping and murdering women and children for several years prior to getting on this TV show.

I read a lot of spoilerific reviews of this movie before watching it, but will spare you so you can go into it without knowing exactly what happens. What's key to note, however, is that this is a movie about how social institutions are set up to disadvantage women at every turn. At the beginning of the film, Sheryl is grabbing drinks with her neighbor, a man she thought was her only friend in LA. Well, surprise, the man wants to be more than friends. And you can see the shock and then resigned ambivalence that flits across her face before she leans into doing the inevitable. That scene is mirrored later on when she gets drinks with Alcala after their Dating Game episode, and the tension is ratcheted up this time because you know she is now having to make the choice about whether or not she will go home with a serial killer, rather than just her loser neighbor. It's a very literal take on the classic survey where men said what they feared most on a blind date was that the woman would laugh at them, while women said, "being murdered."

This is also a movie about how women stick up for each other and join ranks in the face of the patriarchy. The only people who listen to Sheryl and support her standing up for herself are other women. The hair and makeup women on the show are the ones telling her to have fun and ignore the sexist machinations of the show's host. A hostess at a restaurant is the one who sees her pleading gestures and ensures that she isn't served more drinks so she can cut short her date with the creepy Alcala. Meanwhile, male police officers ignore everything they are told by a female witness, and Alcala continues to prey on single women who make the mistake of thinking he's one of those rare good guys who actually want to help them out.

There is a "happy" ending of sorts - Alcala does eventually get caught. The manner in which he gets caught is particularly chilling and incredible, owing to the quick thinking and tenacity of one of his victims, a woman who deserves a thousand medals for bravery. But when you read the final few sentences on the screen, you will feel sick to your stomach about how society let this man continue to destroy so many lives with impunity.

Anora: Let's pivot to a more "feel-good" film. Written and directed by Sean Baker, and winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes this year, Mikey Madison stars as Anora "Ani" Mikheeva, a stripper at a midtown Manhattan club, who is asked to entertain a young, rich man, who wants someone who can speak Russian. Ani speaks Russian because of her grandmother, but her accent isn't great. However, Ivan "Vanya" Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn) doesn't mind a bit and is eager to go to the VIP room with her for a lap dance. And thus begins a whirlwind romance. 

Vanya is 21 and his parents are Russian billionaires, so he is living in style in a mansion in Brooklyn. His parents are off in Russia, however, and his minder is his Armenian godfather, Toros (Karren Kalagulian), who has decided not to micromanage Vanya so much. So for two weeks, Vanya and Ani have the time of their life, with Vanya paying Ani to be exclusive with him, and eventually taking her to Vegas, where he proposes. And she accepts. 

As you can imagine, news of this marriage doesn't go down so well in Russia, and Toros is enlisted to fix the matter. He shows up at the mansion with his brother, Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan), and a henchman, Igor (the brilliant Yura Borisov), and much comedy ensues after Vanya runs away and these three men must now track him down with Ani's extremely reluctant help.

This movie has been touted as a modern Cinderella story, and that is a fair descriptor, up to a point. I don't think it will come as a surprise to anyone how the story ends, but in classic Sean Baker fashion, this is a story about working class folks who have to cater to the whims of the rich, and all of them are just inherently decent people trying to hustle in the big city and make a living. Mikey Madison is sublime as the defiant and demanding Ani, fighting to get what she's due and scrambling to get the upper hand, while Borisov, Tovmasyan, and Kalagulian are hilarious as the weary bodyguards who just want to solve this problem for their employers and move on with their lives. 

Billionaires are the only villains in this story, and that is as it should be. This movie would make an excellent double feature with The Florida Project, and this film is yet another example of what a great character study Sean Baker can offer up, with engaging dialogue and a whirlwind tour of the Russian side of Brooklyn that is probably a mystery to most people, even those who live in New York City. And the final scene is genuinely a little bit heartbreaking and a little bit hopeful. So flock to the theaters and watch this film. It'll be one of the best experiences you have at the cinema this year.

Fall Binges Part 2: Rivals, English Teacher, Kaos, Agatha All Along

There has been an explosion of TV over the past month as I try to juggle new series with returning ones. Here are some reviews of the new shows that have kept me occupied and might suck you in too!

Rivals: I binged this show in one giant gulp and it's the best thing I've watched in ages. Based on the 1988 novel by Jilly Cooper, it is a raucous and over-the-top British delight. Insanely raunchy (there's nudity from the very first scene, so be forewarned), and hysterically devious, this is the story of what happens when Lord Tony Baddingham (played by David Tennant, who relishes in putting the "Bad" in Baddingham), the owner of a TV studio in the idyllic English countryside, hires Declan O'Hara (Aidan Turner, who I last drooled over in Poldark), a feisty journalist, to host his own chat show on his network. Declan moves down with his family, which includes his bored wife, Maud (Victoria Smurfit), and two daughters, the oldest of whom, Taggie (Bella Maclean), catches the eye of the local bad boy aristocrat, Lord Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell). Rupert is cartoonishly horny, and has quite the reputation, but as the series progresses, there's the sense that perhaps this rake can be reformed. But maybe not, because man, he shags a lot of women over the course of eight episodes.

Every single character on this show is having an illicit affair or lusting after someone, and the soundtrack is filled with some great 80s pop tunes, with some heavy breathing thrown in. There are a LOT of characters, who all have their own agendas, but everything weaves together seamlessly and entertainingly and there is just oodles of plot to keep you occupied in between sex scenes. The whole thing also ends on an enormous cliffhanger, so I will be first in line to binge all of Series 2 as soon as it's available. Until then, treat yourself to Series 1, and then maybe, watch it all over again. 

English Teacher: Created by Brian Jordan Alvarez who also stars, this show is like the anti-Abbott Elementary. Alvarez plays Evan, a gay English teacher in Austin who is disenchanted by the profession but still going through the motions and trying to get his life together. His love life is a mess, and he constantly seems to be choosing the wrong men to sleep with or find attractive. In the meantime, his fellow colleagues have their own little dramas, including his best friend, Gwen (Stephanie Koenig), and their hapless principal Grant (Enrico Colantoni). Over the course of eight episodes, we get to follow the adventures of this motley crew as they try to navigate the modern world of teaching and grow up themselves while they're trying to help their students grow up too. I wouldn't say this show is "heartwarming," but it's definitely silly and fun, and it's worth a binge when you need a good laugh on a lazy afternoon.

Kaos: If you're a fan of Greek mythology (and who isn't?!) then this is the show for you. Created by Charlie Covell, this is a sprawling series that is set in a modern-day version of Mount Olympus, where the gods still hold sway over humans but also have their own petty squabbles. Meanwhile, there's an ominous prophecy that binds several mortals together, and if they achieve their destiny, they might topple Zeus, which naturally makes him very antsy. It's all very cryptic, and there are many threads to unravel, but as the eight episodes progress, you'll start to see how all the disparate pieces come together despite Zeus's best efforts to thwart all anarchy. The production design is excellent, the actors are superb, the cinematography is splendid, but Netflix decided to cancel the show, so all we have is this one glorious season. It's still worth a viewing, because the season does feel like we get a bit of a resolution, even though there certainly would have been plenty of story to cover in future seasons. But if you simply want to indulge in one tight season of inventive and audacious Greek lore, start watching this show. You won't be disappointed.

Agatha All Along: Do you remember everything that happened in WandaVision? Yeah, me neither. Anyway, at the end of that show, it turned out a witch named Agatha Harkness (the glorious Kathryn Hahn) was the big bad who wanted to steal the Scarlet Witch's powers. So now, in this show created by Jac Schaeffer, we follow what happened to Agatha after the events of WandaVision. The supporting cast features all-stars like Aubrey Plaza, Patti LuPone, Ali Ahn, Sasheer Zamata, and Debra Jo Rupp, as fellow witches who accompany Agatha on a quest to follow the Witches' Road, a Wizard of Oz-style endeavor that is meant to help each of these women regain something that they have lost. But they are also accompanied by a mysterious teen (played by Joe Locke), who seems fascinated by magic and this quest, but can't explain to anyone what he's doing there. 

Unravelling the teen's identity and Agatha's ultimate endgame is the point of this show, and it is appropriately eerie and spooky, with quite a few jump scares thrown in to make it perfect for Halloween. However, as is typical of much of the Marvel Televisual Universe, it was so stuffed with lore and jimjams that I found myself wildly confused most of the time and decided to just watch for vibes rather than any understanding of the plot. The first episode has a great conceit, and then Episode 7 is a standout that has some great narrative devices that truly kept my eyeballs glued to the screen. But can I tell you what happened on the rest of this show and whether it all got satisfyingly resolved? No, I cannot.

October Movies Part 2: We Live in Time & Conclave

I went to the theater twice this week. I watched a movie I hated and a movie I was genuinely surprised by. Let's find out which was which!

Conclave: Directed by Edward Berger and written by Peter Straughan, based on the novel by Robert Harris, this movie follows the drama and intrigue of a papal conclave to elect the new Pope after the old one dies. Ralph Fiennes plays Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, who is in charge of running this conclave and ensuring that they follow the protocol and quickly elect the next leader of the Catholic Church. Thomas has been plagued by doubts (a doubting Thomas, if you will), but he is now determined to do his duty and ensure the conclave goes through without a hitch. Easier said than done.

There are all manner of personalities vying for the position. There's Stanley Tucci as Cardinal Aldo Bellini, a liberal who wants to continue the old Pope's reformist agenda and has Thomas's vote. But they're up against Cardinal Joshua Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati) from Nigeria, who would be the first Black Pope but is also virulently against homosexuality. Cardinal Joseph Tremblay (John Lithgow) is ambitious and scheming, while Cardinal Goffredo Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) is a racist Italian who wants to take the Church back to its origins and give up all this reformist claptrap. Thomas has his hands full managing all these people, and as he uncovers more secrets about each of the favorites, he starts to deftly swing the vote, desperately trying to ensure the wrong man doesn't become Pope. It's a bit like watching the 2024 US election, except with a lot more candidates.

I won't say much more because this film has twists and turns, culminating in an epic final twist that I defy anyone to see coming. It caught me thoroughly off guard and is the reason I want everyone to watch this film so we can all discuss how bonkers and amazing it was. Apart from the script and impeccable acting, however, this movie is also firing on all cylinders when it comes to the production design by Suzie Davies. I knew they couldn't possibly be filming in the Sistine Chapel and its environs, but damned if you won't feel exactly like you're in the Vatican instead of a studio set. Beautifully shot by Stephane Fontaine with a mysterious and fun score by Volker Bertelmann, this movie is a thoroughly entertaining and delightful piece of cinema that will keep you guessing till the very end.

We Live in Time: When the credits rolled on this film, I went "I knew it, OF COURSE this movie was directed and written by men!" Written by Nick Payne and directed by John Crowley, this is a melodramatic romance that goes back and forth in time as it chronicles the love story of Tobias and Almut (Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh) over a decade. Garfield and Pugh are absolutely charming and wonderful, and it's nice to get to see them work in their original British accents for a change. They are magnetic and are the reason I kept watching this film and delighting in their chemistry. But the plot of this film? WOOF.

If you're a fan of these actors and think that having a child is the be all and end all of every couple's existence, please go forth and watch this movie without reading the rest of my review. But if you're childfree, or a woman who has any kind of sense of prioritizing her health over the romantic ideal of biological procreation, please read on as I vociferously denounce this movie's mawkish sentimentality and spoil the rest of the plot.

Early in their relationship, the two have to have a difficult conversation as Almut doesn't really care about having kids, while Tobias does. They have a potentially relationship-ending fight, but Tobias realizes he would rather just be with Almut who is right in front of him than lose her for the promise of non-existent children. Yay, it's true love. Then, Almut is diagnosed with ovarian cancer. While her doctor recommends a hysterectomy if she wants the certainty of getting rid of all the cancer, Almut is suddenly overcome with the idea of having a child with Tobias, and therefore decides to hang on to her uterus and one ovary so that she can have a shot at conceiving a child. She goes through chemo, enters remission, and then we enter into a montage of sex, negative pregnancy tests, disappointment, and then an IVF cycle, until Almut is finally gloriously pregnant and can give birth to their daughter. And then a few years later, her cancer comes back. And while she agrees to treat it again, rather than taking it easy and trying to ensure all the treatment has a fighting chance, she decides to prioritize her career as a chef, entering into a brutal culinary competition that tires her out and ensures that she will die at the end of this movie.

This movie managed to hit all my pet peeves: people who think that biological conception is the only possible way to fulfill their dream of having a child when everything about their biology is telling them not to, and people who then don't do what their doctor tells them to when they're sick. This is the ultimate "women can have it all!" movie, except in this case, the woman gets to have a career, a child, and then cancer. Yeesh. I know Almut was the one with cancer, but I spent most of the film feeling sorry for Tobias because he was just trying to be with the woman he loved but she kept making chaotic decisions. So once again, as I am on my soapbox, let me please remind all the women of the world: there is nothing beautiful and fulfilling about pregnancy. It is one of the most dangerous things you can do to your body and is basically classified as a medical illness for those nine heinous months that you are carrying that child in your uterus, until we get to the delivery when a whole new host of things can go wrong and kill you. If you want to be a mother, great, adopt a child. But stop battering your body if pregnancy will be dangerous or difficult for your health. Not all women need to be biologically pregnant to be fulfilled, OK? And please, do not literally kill yourself to have a child or to be declared the best chef in the world. It's simply not worth it.

October Movies Part 1: My Old Ass, Sing Sing, Wolfs, Saturday Night

So far, October has been a bit more promising on the TV front than movies. But there are still some options for you in the theater or on streaming so let's get to them!

My Old Ass: This is a genuinely wonderful movie that people should be watching in droves. It has flown a bit under the radar because it doesn't have any big-name stars attached apart from Aubrey Plaza, but it is a sweet, funny, and moving film. Written and directed by Megan Park, it tells the story of 18-year-old Elliott (the brilliant Maisy Stella), who is spending her last summer at home with her family on their idyllic cranberry farm before she leaves for university in the big city (Toronto!) and can finally begin her life. When she does shrooms with her best friends, she has a trip where she is visited by her 39-year-old future self (played by Aubrey Plaza). Future Elliott has some good advice, mostly around cherishing this time she has left with her family, and to not be so desperate to grow up. But there is also some more cryptic advice that you will spend the rest of the film worrying about until the surprising conclusion. 

This is one of those films where you shouldn't pay too much attention to the science fiction implications of time travel: future Elliott puts her number into present Elliott's phone as "My Old Ass" and the two of them are still able to communicate after she is done tripping - don't think about that too hard. Instead, just go along for the splendid ride to experience a beautiful story about living in the present and not worrying too much about the ramification of your choices. Also, Elliott is unapologetically gay and has a great support system, so this is a great movie for queer kids and other folk who would like to just enjoy the fantasy of seeing a gay kid live their life without too much drama. This is a gem of a film and while it seems too small to get much recognition at awards season, I do dearly hope it might get a nod for Park's screenwriting or Stella's lead performance. Everyone, please run to the theater and watch it immediately.

Sing Sing: Speaking of powerful lead performances, it should come as no surprise that Colman Domingo is great in this film. Directed by Greg Kwedar, who co-wrote the screenplay with Clint Bentley, this is the story of the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program at Sing Sing prison in upstate New York. This program has been running for almost 30 years, and the focus of this film is on  John "Divine G" Whitfield (Domingo), a prisoner who joined RTA and became a playwright and director, while he also fought his wrongful conviction and tried to secure his release. Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin also co-stars as himself, and we get to see how Divine G scouted him to join the RTA program, gradually molding him to become a star actor in the program, after overcoming his initial skepticism.

This is a film about the transformative power of the arts and the important work RTA does to get these prisoners to process their emotions and learn new ways to express themselves instead of the old standbys of anger and violence. Sing Sing is a maximum security prison, and many of these men are serving life sentences with little or no hope. But participating in RTA gives them joy and a new purpose in life. I listened to a podcast with Maclin and it's wonderful to hear this man, who had such a rough start in life and was sentenced to 17 years in Sing Sing for robbery, speak about what this program did for him and how he is now taking the work forward by helping prisoners and at-risk youth with these skills. I can't say that I always found this movie engaging, but the actors (most of whom are actual RTA alumnae) are captivating and the story they are telling is compelling and important. And the final scenes when you get to see some of the real-life plays that RTA put on through the years is enough to make you believe in humanity after all.

Wolfs: Oof. Written and direct by Jon Watts, and starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt, you would have thought this movie would be great. But it's an Apple TV+ production and is "aggressively mid" as I once heard NPR's Linda Holmes describe a lot of their catalogue. Clooney and Pitt are playing "fixers" who get called into a Manhattan District Attorney's hotel room when she accidentally finds herself with a dead body and doesn't know what to do next. She called Clooney, while Pitt was called in by the hotel owner, and now these two lone wolves must work together to clean up the situation. Which leads to a wild night across New York City as they unravel the plot of how this "dead" man ended up in that hotel room, and other tangled conspiracies that ultimately relate to who they work for in the first place. 

Honestly, I cannot tell you much more beyond that, because I barely understood this convoluted plot, the cinematography was so dark I could barely see any of the action, and apart from the very end, in a diner scene, when it felt like I could finally see Clooney's facial expressions and be reminded me of why he's such a great actor, I was thoroughly bored. I was expecting the two leads to recapture the old Ocean's Eleven magic, but their banter felt forced, and every line of dialogue just fell flat. Pitt also seems to be an increasingly sketchy public figure who needs to account for his terrible behavior towards Angelina Jolie and their children, and while he ordinarily whitewashes his reputation by producing excellent movies, this movie is such a dud that his luck has run out. So don't bother watching this film, and let's just all band together for a Pitt boycott instead. That would be a much more worthy use of our time.  

Saturday Night: Directed by Jason Reitman, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Gil Kenan, this is a movie about the 90 minutes preceding the airing of the very first episode of Saturday Night Live in 1975. As we swoop through the studio and Rockefeller Center, following creator Lorne Michaels (played by Gabriel LaBelle) around as he deals with recalcitrant actors, peeved writers, a righteous censor, eager comedians, doubtful studio executives, and...a llama, it's an absolute whirlwind of chaos. As someone who watches SNL every week and is a fan of the many iconic comedians and characters that got their start on this show, this movie is a veritable who's who of famous names. But it felt like watching The Bear, an anxiety-provoking hellscape where you just want to be like "man, is this even worth it." And oddly, it also felt like watching Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, where everyone's laughing at the supposedly hilarious sketches, while I just sat there thinking, "huh, this doesn't seem that funny." 

Obviously, SNL is an institution, and that first episode WAS really funny and led to this show still being on the air 50 (!) years later. But this movie is such a hagiography, such a self-aggrandizing piece of "yeah, it's us against the establishment, man!" that it's a bit hard to swallow, given that SNL now IS the establishment. The movie is trying to convey how this scrappy little show was going up against the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, with all these counter-culture comedians that no one had heard of, and it was so risqué and daring. But in the cold, hard light of 2024, it no longer feels fresh or innovative, a lot of the jokes feel sexist and tired, and apart from Lamorne Morris's delightful turn as the lone Black cast member, Garrett Morris, this just feels like a sea of white people patting themselves on the back for sticking to their guns. I really did want to like this movie, and while I do think it's a technical marvel with the way it conveys all the frantic energy and endless fires (figurative and literal!) that Lorne has to put out until this show can finally go live, it ultimately didn't seem to have anything new or exciting to say. Which is probably what most people say about SNL these days.

Fall Binges Part 1: How to Die Alone, Ludwig, Nobody Wants This

It's getting colder and it's time to spend more time on the couch bingeing TV (OK fine, I do that regardless of the weather). Over the past month I have been making my way through some quality fare, so if you've missed out on the following shows, might I suggest you get all caught up?

How to Die Alone: If you saw Natasha Rothwell in the first season of The White Lotus and thought, "that lady needs her own show!" then this is the answer to your prayers. Here, Rothwell stars (and also created the show!) as Mel, a 35-year-old "broke, fat, Black woman" who works at JFK airport. She is currently single, has one best friend, Rory (Conrad Ricamora), and her boss, Alex (Jocko Sims), also happens to be her ex, who is about to get married to the woman who was meant to be his rebound. Mel doesn't have a lot going on in her life, but when she has a near-death experience, she is determined to make some changes. Including how to find someone to serve as her emergency contact.

Over the course of eight episodes, you are going to watch this woman attempt to evolve but in such a frustrating manner that you know it's all going to fall apart. The show can feel like very broad comedy at times, but then it gets incredibly sharp and incisive. The Thanksgiving episode where she goes to her brother's house for Thanksgiving is a particular standout, managing to be deeply uncomfortable and thrilling, showcasing all the many ways in which families can be infuriating and loving, often at the same time. Mel's life is extremely chaotic, and while it was sometimes hard to watch her be the architect of her own destruction, I binged this show in two days, compelled by Rothwell's riveting central performance and all the fascinating supporting characters. The airport setting is definitely engaging; JFK can be one of the most irritating places to visit as a traveler, but maybe on my next trip, I will amuse myself by imagining what Mel and her colleagues are getting up to behind-the-scenes.

Nobody Wants This: Looking for a delightful romcom that you can binge in one delightful sitting? Then this is the show you seek. Created by Erin Foster and starring the charming pair of Kristen Bell and Adam Brody, this is a story of what happens when Joanne (Bell), a woman who co-hosts a podcast with her sister about her sex and dating life, ends up dating Noah (Brody), who is...a rabbi. 

As broad and ridiculous as that premise sounds, the show is sublime. The writing is pitch perfect, and rather than just leaning into a bunch of jokes about Jews or sex-positive millennials, it deftly manages to highlight the very real issues that are keeping these two people apart, but more importantly, the very real chemistry that keeps pulling them together. It also doesn't hurt that the supporting cast consists of Judith Lupe and Timothy Simons as Joanne's sister, Morgan, and Noah's brother, Sasha. Those two are up to some craziness on the sidelines, and watching the antics of this couple's friends and family members is almost as delightful as watching the couple themselves.

While this first season offers up a complete and delicious romance to satisfy all of your cravings, I am desperate to find out what happens next. And if the writing and acting wasn't enough, the show's soundtrack is full of absolute bangers that always brought a smile to my face. This is the perfect comedy: funny, charming, and brimming with heart. I defy you to not be instantly bowled over by it - everybody wants this!

Ludwig: When my friend sent me the trailer of this show, I couldn't have been more excited. A BBC show starring David Mitchell, my favorite British comedian, as a puzzle creator who is trying to figure out the disappearance of his twin brother, a police detective, and ends up solving a bunch of murder mysteries as though they were different types of puzzles? Inject that directly into my veins!

Written by Mark Brotherhood, this show is a delightful comedy mystery series, and I binged all six episodes in a flash. Every episode features a unique murder that John "Ludwig" Taylor (Mitchell) needs to solve, but there's also the overarching mystery of why his twin brother James has disappeared that he is investigating with James's wife, Lucy (Anna Maxwell Martin), and son, Henry (Dylan Hughes). Meanwhile, no one at the police station has figured out he is not his brother James, so he needs to keep bumbling about James's colleagues at the police station while he looks for clues, whilst accidentally solving all their murder cases in brilliant fashion. The tone is deftly comic but intriguing, the murders are all intricate and satisfyingly solved, and I instantly wanted to go buy a big book of logic puzzles when I was all done. If you like reading cozy mysteries, this show is the TV equivalent and is the perfect fall treat. Unfortunately, it does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, so Series 2 had better be filming right now. 

September Movies Part 2: The Wild Robot, Transformers One, His Three Daughters

I was felled by Covid for a good part of this month so didn't go out to the movies as much. But I have rallied in this final week. One of these movies is the best thing I've seen in a long while, and the other two were equally engaging in different ways. Dive in to find out which!

The Wild Robot: I didn't know much about this animated film going into it, apart from the fact that Lupita Nyong'o voiced the main robot. But oh, was I in for an absolute treat. Written and directed by Chris Sanders, based on the book by Peter Brown (a book that you can be sure I have now requested from my local library), this is a sumptuous and moving story about what happens when a robot named Roz is shipwrecked on an island that is only inhabited by wild animals. Designed to help humans, she must adapt to speak to these animals, who are all understandably scared of her, and figure out her place in the world. 

Roz befriend a fox named Fink (voiced by Pedro Pascal) and accidentally becomes "mother" to a gosling that she hatched after crushing his nest. That gosling grows up to be Brightbill (Kit Connor), and Roz is determined to help him learn how to swim and fly so he can get ready for his annual migration with the other geese. Along the way, we get a story about being an outsider, becoming a family, conservation, protecting the planet, using technology for good rather than evil, and just a whole host of other themes and topics that keep swirling around and overwhelming you with their complexity and narrative richness. 

Overlaying all this narrative is the drop-dead gorgeous hand-painted animation that deserves to be in a museum. The way Roz moves and navigates this island is fun to watch, but every single animal, tree, and river is also depicted lushly and beautifully. This is a very funny movie -- Matt Berry voicing an annoyed beaver and Catherine O'Hara as an opossum who is burdened by her many children were particular highlights -- but it is also an incredibly moving film that made me teary at multiple points (I was probably also nudged to tears by Kris Bowers's sublime score). It is so wonderfully sweet and delightful, and I demand it receive an Oscar nomination, because it's one of the best animated movies I've seen and profoundly stirred my heart.

Transformers One: Before going to this movie, I read a few sentences that said this was the origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron on the planet of Cybertron. I was vaguely aware of those words, but as someone who has never watched a Transformers movie and has only hazy recollections of the cartoons from when I was nine, I will confess that I was probably not this movie's target audience. Unlike my husband, who proceeded to enjoy this movie thoroughly.

The voice cast is great, with folks like Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, and Jon Hamm, who are all adept at providing ample amounts of comedy at the beginning and then high drama towards the end. The animation is also fantastic, particularly during battle/racing sequences when the inventiveness of these Transformers and their ability to morph into different shapes is on full display. It's also a fun and engaging story, even for someone like me, who had no idea who these characters were or any of the lore but could easily spot the classic tropes of an origin story and figure out where we were headed. This is a film that probably has a lot more appeal to Transformers fans, but if you're just a casual moviegoer who is desperate to see something new, this film offers up a perfectly entertaining time.

His Three Daughters: Written and directed by Azazel Jacobs, and starring the powerhouse trio of Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olson, and Natasha Lyonne, this is a story about three sisters who are taking care of their father during his final days as he enters home hospice care. I know that sounds grim, but this is more of a story about family dynamics and the extremely complex relationships between sisters. Each of these women are incredibly different, and they each have unique bonds with each other, further complicated by the fact that two of them are biologically related while the other is "only" a half-sister but is the one who has been taking care of their father all along. 

I won't say much more, because this is very much a character study where you need to get all the little pieces of family history revealed to you bit by bit to put together a complete portrait of the little resentments and misunderstandings that have been building up in these women over the years. They love each other, but that love is complicated by all this prior history and baggage, and watching them air it all out in this extremely fraught setting is both stifling and exhilarating. This is also a very New York movie, taking place in that claustrophobic apartment, and the soundtrack of a passing subway train or the buses and garbage trucks rumbling by made me feel right at home. 

This film has been hyped and lauded by many critics, and while it is phenomenally acted, I did find myself left a little cold. Yes, it's a great story, but the climax felt a bit overwrought to me, and overall, I had a sense that this would make a better play than a movie. Perhaps it's because I have never been particularly fazed by the idea of mortality, but I found myself more fascinated by the psychological complexities of the characters while not actually moved by their difficult circumstances. Please watch this film and then enter into a raucous debate with me about why I should feel differently!

September Movies Part 1: Blink Twice & Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

I got back from my honeymoon and immediately headed to the movie theaters to see what September had to offer. So far, I have been pleasantly surprised!

Blink Twice: The directorial debut of Zoe Kravitz (who also co-wrote the screenplay with E.T. Feigenbaum), this movie really threw me for a loop. I spent the first hour thinking it was entirely too vibey and going nowhere, and then all of a sudden, things took a thrilling (but somehow also hilarious) turn that had me on the edge of my seat with a big smile on my face.

Naomi Ackie and Alia Shawkat star as Frida and Jess, two women who are waitresses at an event for Slater King (Channing Tatum), a tech billionaire. Halfway through the party, they change into fancy dresses and infiltrate the party as guests, where they quickly get thrown into King's friend group. They all have a great night, at the end of which, King invites Frida and Jess to fly back with him and his friends to his private island. This is the stuff that dreams are made of, right? Well, yes, but also...nightmares.

For the first half of the film, everything is a bit of an ethereal drunken and drugged up bacchanal on the island and everyone seems to be having a great time. But then, Jess starts to feel like something is a little bit off. And that's when the fun/horror begins. This movie proceeds to be an amazing feminist romp and takedown of the patriarchy, and there's a particular line that Frida delivers to a character played by Geena Davis (yes, she's on the island too!) that feels like it is a commentary on how women of color feel all the time when a white woman chooses to ignore their plight in favor of a rich white man instead. This is an extremely weird but self-assured little movie, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: I had no memory of the original 1988 film, so I first watched it in the morning before I saw this sequel in the afternoon. If it's been a while since you've seen the original, I highly recommend you do the same, because I do not think anything in the sequel would have made much sense to me if I hadn't prepped beforehand. I'm sure the story can stand alone, but it's a much richer tale when you already know who all these characters are and what happened to them thirty-six years ago.

The sequel is essentially a retread of the original, except this time around, Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), is all grown up and now has a teenage daughter of her own, Astrid (Jenna Ortega). Astrid is a typical teenage girl who hates her mom, and now Lydia can empathize with her stepmom, Delia (Catherine O'Hara), for the hard time she always gave her as a teenager. When they have to return to Winter River for a funeral (natch), Astrid gets into trouble, and the only way Lydia can save her is by invoking Beetlejuice's name three times. And thus, much mayhem ensues.

It's silly but perfectly entertaining if you loved the original. Special effects have obviously improved a great deal since 1988, but this film still keeps some of the kitschy special effects from the 80s for peak nostalgia value. And the soundtrack is particularly delightful, including a nod to one of my favorite Bee Gees songs. If that's sufficiently intriguing, head right over to the theater and check out what happens when the juice is loose!